5 Traditional Menorcan Desserts You Need to Know

14 Sep 2026 · 5 min de lectura

Menorcan pastry is understated, honest and deeply local. No frills, no trends — the same sweets made in island homes two centuries ago. Almond, fresh cheese, honey, aniseed and lard are the ingredients that define them. Here are the five you can’t miss.

1. Amargos menorquins

Amargos are Menorca’s most iconic sweet. Small almond biscuits with a flavour somewhere between sweet and bitter, eaten with coffee, with Mahón gin, or simply as a petit four at the end of a meal. You’ll find them in every bakery on the island and in our shops, but making them at home is far more satisfying.

Ingredients for about 30 amargos:

250 g ground almonds
200 g sugar
2 egg whites
Zest of 1 lemon
Whole almonds to decorate
Wafer paper (optional)

Method:

Mix the ground almonds with the sugar and lemon zest. Add the egg whites gradually until you get a firm dough you can shape with your hands — you may not need both whites. Form walnut-sized balls and place on wafer or baking paper. Flatten each slightly and press a whole almond into the centre. Bake at 170°C for 12-15 minutes — golden outside, soft inside. They firm up as they cool.

The secret is not overbaking them. Too long in the oven and they turn rock hard. Take them out while the centre still gives slightly when pressed.

2. Formatjades

Formatjades are Menorca’s sweet empanadas. A lard-based dough filled with fresh cheese, egg and sugar, baked until golden. They’re traditionally the island’s Easter sweet, though today they’re made all year round.

Ingredients for 12 formatjades:

For the dough: 300 g flour, 100 g lard, 1 egg, 50 ml water, pinch of salt
For the filling: 300 g brossat (Menorcan curd cheese) or ricotta, 2 eggs, 100 g sugar, zest of 1 lemon, 1 tsp cinnamon

Method:

Mix the flour with the room-temperature lard until sandy. Add the egg, salt and water gradually to form a firm dough. Chill 30 minutes. For the filling, mix the brossat with the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon into a smooth cream. Roll the dough thin, cut circles about 12 cm across, spoon filling into the centre, fold and seal edges with a fork. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 180°C for 20 minutes until golden.

3. Greixonera de brossat

Greixonera is the Menorcan flan — but made with brossat (the island’s fresh curd cheese) instead of whole milk. The result is denser, creamier and more complex than a regular flan. It’s made in the clay dish that gives it its name and served cold.

Ingredients for 6:

500 g very fresh brossat or curd cheese
4 eggs
150 g sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Butter for the dish
Sugar to caramelise the dish

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Caramelise sugar directly in the clay dish over heat, or coat it with sugar and pass under the grill until golden. Whisk the brossat with the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon until smooth and lump-free. Pour into the caramelised dish and bake in a water bath for 45 minutes. Cool completely before unmoulding. Serve cold with a pinch of cinnamon on top.

Menorcan brossat is tangier and leaner than industrial curd cheese. Use it if you can find it — it changes the result completely. Otherwise, good-quality fresh curd cheese works fine.

4. Menorcan ensaimada

Ensaimada is the Balearics’ best-known sweet, but the Menorcan version has its own personality — smaller than the Mallorcan one, with less lard and a lighter flavour. Eaten at breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or as dessert with a glass of Mahón gin.

Ingredients for 8 small ensaimadas:

500 g strong flour
150 g sugar
3 eggs
200 ml warm water
25 g fresh yeast
100 g lard, room temperature
Icing sugar to dust

Method:

Dissolve the yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar. Rest 10 minutes until frothy. Mix the flour with the sugar, add the eggs and the yeast water. Knead 15 minutes until smooth and elastic. Rest covered for 2 hours until doubled. Divide into 8 pieces, roll each into a thin rectangle and spread with lard. Roll up into a cylinder, then coil into a spiral. Place on a baking tray, cover with a cloth and rest another 8 hours — ideally overnight. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes. Dust with icing sugar while warm.

5. Menorcan flao

Flao is Menorca’s oldest tart. A shortcrust base filled with brossat, eggs, sugar, fresh mint and aniseed, traditionally baked at Easter. The aroma of mint and aniseed makes it completely unlike any other cheesecake you’ve tried.

Ingredients for 8:

For the crust: 250 g flour, 80 g lard, 1 egg, 50 ml sweet anisette, pinch of salt
For the filling: 400 g brossat or curd cheese, 3 eggs, 150 g sugar, a handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped, 2 tbsp sweet anisette, zest of 1 lemon

Method:

Mix the flour with the room-temperature lard until sandy. Add the egg, anisette and salt to form a smooth dough. Wrap and chill 30 minutes. For the filling, whisk the brossat with the eggs, sugar, chopped mint, anisette and lemon zest. Roll out the dough and line a 24 cm tart tin. Pour in the filling and bake at 170°C for 35-40 minutes until set and golden on top. Cool completely before serving — it’s even better the next day.

Fresh mint is non-negotiable. Without it, it isn’t flao. Use real mint leaves, not dried mint or extract.

Menorca’s sweets, in our shops

Amargos and other traditional Menorcan sweets are available at all four s’Aturadeta shops in Mahón and Sant Climent. If you want to take them home, we pack them so they arrive perfectly. And if you’d like to combine them with cheese, gin or sobrasada in a gourmet basket, build yours here.